It was the lead story Wednesday morning on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme and headlined in the British broadsheet newspapers.
A devastating new report says diabetics in Britain are dying far too early due to poor management of their condition.
This includes not receiving basic diabetic health checks on the NHS, unhealthy lifestyles and not properly understanding how to take prescribed medication.
The new report urges better education and support for people with diabetes.
Teaching people how to manage their condition (including exercising and improving one’s diet) reduces the risk of complications.
Education is vital–not just for people with diabetes, but also for friends and loved ones, if they are to provide the necessary support.
“Fit as a fiddle me–maybe a bit overweight; got to get exercising and cut out the extra chips–going to start tomorrow, honest! Don’t worry about me.“
An old schoolmate convinced me to have a blood test for prostate cancer, after he’d been diagnosed with it.
My blood test was clear for cancer–but it turned up higher than normal glucose (sugar) levels in my blood. A second test six months later confirmed the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.
In a way I was doubly lucky.
My mother had Type 1 diabetes (injecting) for 30 years; I knew from watching her struggle that I had to take my own predicament seriously.
The support of friends and family is important.
In a recent interview for Diabetes UK‘s Balance Magazine I was asked :
What would you do if you were head of NHS Diabetes Services for a day?
I’d have a day for the partners of people with diabetes. There’s a lot of ignorance around and more people need to learn about the condition.
Robin Ellis 
Robin, you will be helping many people. It has been shown that when a celebrity gives his time to make a public service announcement, people give it more attention and get the medical attention they may require. The statistics for those who are unaware of their condition are staggering. I had no idea it was so pandemic. And the good news is it can be well managed. Great post.
Robin what you say is so true, every time Jimmy and I go to the hospital there are more and more YOUNG people there with this” beast” as we call it.
Jimmy was diagnosed when he was 47,he had lost a lot of weight,& looked so ill
we when to the doctors right away he new what was wrong and sent him to the hospital where we had a diabetic nurse go through what was wrong and how to take his insulin( he is type 1).That was good but the first time he had a hypo I was terrifed,had know idea how to deal with it,the para-medic’s came and were wonderful they shown me how to get the needle into him,Robin when I think back it’s a wonder he is still alive,we made mistakes of course,but you learn,which is why I think your idea of a day of learning for partners is so good.
That first time of coming face to face with a hypo is so awful,you feel so helpless,if you just had that little bit of reasurance it would made all the difference.I personally think that your writings give great encouragment to people, that it’s not the end of the world,you can still live a very good and active live.But if you are lucky enough to have the support of a loved one in this must never be forgotten it so important for you both.
Wonderful Elaine–thank you for telling the story.
It is a shocking thing. My mother called them “reactions”.
She had one or two in the middle of the night. My father woke up instinctively–it saved her life.
This back in the early 60’s.
Thank you very much for share us this so important info!!!
Great post, Robin ! Diabetes it’s called “Volkskrankheit” (widespread disease in English) in my country.
It would be so important to improve the consciousness for healthy food and the responsibility for well-being of each individual. Sometimes I think only working and consuming are the most important things in this modern world. Beginning in preschool with teach children the basics of cooking & food. It is very sad that children don’t know what fruits & veggies even are, where they come from or what to do with them! Changing bad habits is always difficult. Jamie Oliver made this experience when he cooked for schoolchildren. I think one of the reasons is the bad influence of food industry. They produce some kind of food that makes people ill, e.g. sweets with unhealthy trans fats and more sugar than necessary also ready meals with unhealthy ingredients. The sugar industry blocked the introduction of stevia for a long time which possibly could be an healthier alternative for sugar as a sweetener.
Here is a link to an interesting interview of a German diabetics in „DiabetesMine“ http://www.diabetesmine.com/2011/03/diabetes-in-germany.html
It’s from a series where diabetics of different countries describe their situation.
Thanks, Martina. You are so right about early learning and teachers would make it fun.
Jamie O is a hero of mine. He has done so much already to highlight the problem and been brave in the face of fierce prejudice and reluctance to change–often because of special interests.
I look forward to reading the link.